US apologises over civilian deaths in Afghanistan

A US soldier looking for threats out of his helicopter in Marjah, Afghanistan, yesterday. (AP)

By

AP

PublishedWednesday, February 24, 2010

The commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan has taken his apology for a weekend airstrike that killed civilians directly to the Afghan people.

In a video, he pledged to work to regain their trust as Nato continues a mass offensive against the Taliban in the south.

General Stanley McChrystal apologised for the strike in central Uruzgan province that Afghan officials said killed at least 21 people.

The video was broadcast nationally on Afghan television.

Meanwhile, the US Marines and Afghan ground troops pushing from the north and south of the insurgent stronghold of Marjah finally linked up after more than a week, creating a direct route across the town that allows convoys to resupply ammunition and reinforcements.

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